05 March 2014

Why I blog...

Blogging- blog- blogger. This whole idea is very new to me and much harder than I expected. It is quite a lot to put yourself out there everyday- and I haven't even started with the deep meaningful stuff yet. I hope I can say that this will all be a success but in all honesty I'm here on this site as a way to document- to put down life's moments and look back at them. And to write.

I may have mentioned it before but I really, really, REALLY want to hike the entire Appalachian Trail (yes the entire 2,160 and some odd miles) all the way from Georgia to Maine. It may not be a dream or goal of mine I mention often but as I get older it becomes more prominent in my mind as something I want to complete, need to complete, and will complete.

I heard about the trail in my English class in 10th grade- some woman came and spoke to our class about how she and a friend has hiked the whole trail. Immediately I thought that is sounded cool, like something I would want to do one day. This is a bit odd because I'm not a super outdoorsy person. I have camped before, and I do like doing outdoorsy things but I don't do them often- example I've never been backpacking and I'm proposing to backpack for an entire 6 + months. yikes! I can do this!!

Since that life changing day in 10th grade, I revisit the idea every once in a while- but more recently it has really stuck as something that I can do and will do. This is one of the reasons I started this blog- when this happens (hopefully in 2015 or 2016) I want to be able to document the whole experience- from picking out the crazy lightweight gear I will need, to every tear (I know there will be many) and smile (also will be an abundant item.) I can already tell you what I am looking forward too- the solitude, the amount of food I all be able to consume (jars of peanut butter and nutella weekly, please sign me up) experiencing mother nature for who she is, and all the amazing people who will be on the same journey as me.

As for now this is a way to start a great habit- to write everyday, perfect my writing style, and meet some really great people experiencing all of life's adventures and documenting them too. Until next time..

Oh this adventure will definitely take time to plan- as for training some people don't train at all, others take day/weekend backpacking trips to get used the weight of the backpack (typically 25-30 lbs), and as of now I've never heard of anyone hiring a trainer- mostly it's a lot of questioning others who have done the trail. Which is also how you know what to buy, I've read a few books on the subject and follow a lot of blogs of people who have walked it or starting to and they will be my most useful tools for when I plan my own hike. Most overwhelming is the financial part of it- you can spend 2000/3000 on equipment, another 4/5000 on the actual trail plus whatever you need to pay your bills while you are away. My goal now is to just save money!